A Secret Passage?
by ONIX-21
Summary: One-shot. Non Slash. Set the summer before Harry’s 5th year at Hogwarts. Sirius, Remus and Harry talk over a game of chess.


**Title: **A Secret Passage?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter

**Summary: **One-shot. Non Slash. Set the summer before Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts. Sirius, Remus and Harry talk over a game of chess.

**A/N: **I started writing this 5th January 2010 and finished it 8th January 2010. This is nothing important really I just like writing stories with Harry, Remus and Sirius and this just popped in to my head one day. I wrote the first half and then didn't know where I wanted to take the story so I left it a little while until the idea for the rest of it came.

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Harry Potter was lying in bed in the room he shared with his best friend Ronald Weasley in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, his Godfather Sirius' ancestral home. Harry had awoken from a strange dream a few moments ago. In the dream he seemed to be walking along a dark corridor which had black tiles on the floor and walls. He had been having the same dream for a while now but always seemed to wake up before he could reach the end of the hallway.

Now he was having trouble falling back to sleep. Not only was the dream playing on his mind but also Ron was snoring, very loudly.

Harry tried in vain for a bit longer to fall asleep but eventually gave it up with a sigh. He sat up, threw his bed covers off of him and placed his glasses on his nose. He stood and headed out of the room. He decided to wander around the large house for a while.

As he reached the ground floor he could hear muffled voices coming from the living room. He padded quietly up to the slightly open door and peered inside the room. Remus and Sirius were sat opposite each other with a chessboard on a small table in between them.

Harry tapped the door softly with the knuckles of his right hand, not wanting to startle them before pushing the door open another fraction. Both adult wizards glanced up immediately and looked surprised upon seeing the young wizard standing in the doorway.

"Harry". They both called happily with wide smiles.

"Come on in". Said Remus waving Harry over.

"Yeah, pull up a chair". Continued Sirius, indicating another armchair nearby. Harry smiled and nodded and wandered over to his Godfather and old Professor. He placed his chair next to the table and sat to watch the two men play their game.

"So, what are you still doing up?". Sirius asked as he made his move across the board. Harry shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep". He replied nonchalantly. Remus peered at him.

"Anything wrong?". He asked concerned. Harry shook his head.

"No. Nothing really". He replied. Remus moved his Pawn on the board and then he and Sirius looked at Harry unconvinced. Harry smiled slightly at the concern they were both showing him.

"Really, I just had a weird dream and then Ron was snoring as loud as a Muggle buzz saw so I couldn't go back to sleep". He finished with a grin. Both adults laughed in reply. Remus destroyed Sirius' Knight and the dark haired man cursed softly.

"You know Sirius always snored when we were at school". Remus said with a smile.

"Really?". Harry asked with a chuckle.

"I did no such thing". Said Sirius indignantly.

"Oh yes you did". Remus countered with a fond smile. "I used to pray that I would fall asleep before you so I wouldn't have to listen to that dreadful racket". He admitted and smiled at the look of mock outrage upon his old friends face as Harry grinned and laughed quietly.

"Hmpf". Said Sirius and then seemed to take immense pleasure in blasting apart one of Remus' Pawns. At least if the spark of glee in his eyes was anything to go by. Harry looked at Remus but he did not seem bothered as he smiled brightly and took Sirius' only remaining Bishop. Harry stifled a laugh as Sirius growled almost dog like.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a short time, the only interruptions being the cracking noises as chess pieces were blown apart.

"Hey, Sirius?". Asked Harry, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?". Sirius replied absently as he concentrated on his next move.

"You know that portrait in the hallway near my room, the one of the old wizard and his snake?". Harry continued quietly. Sirius nodded, indicating that he did in fact know of it. "Well, where does the passage behind it lead?". Harry asked curiously. He had been meaning to ask for a while now but had forgotten all about it. Sirius paused during his next move and looked at Harry confused.

"There's no passage behind that portrait". He answered slowly, quite taken aback at the unexpected question.

"There is". Harry insisted. "The portrait told me". Remus was looking between the two of them curiously while Sirius merely continued to look confused.

"He talked to you?". Sirius questioned, but continued on without waiting for an answer. "That's strange, that old fool has never spoken to anyone. Real grumpy man". He finished and made his next move in the game. Harry shook his head again.

"No. He wouldn't speak to me either". He told them honestly. Now Sirius looked even more confused and Remus looked as if he was desperately trying to work out some sort of puzzle as he gazed at Harry.

"But you said that the portrait told you about a passage behind it". Remus stated. Sirius nodded.

"Well . . . uh. . .". Harry stuttered, looking very uncomfortable suddenly. He wished he had not brought up the subject of the portrait now. Sirius and Remus could both see that the younger wizard was desperately looking for a way out of this conversation. The Animagus put his hand over his Godson's and gave it a squeeze.

"What is it?". He questioned softly. Harry fidgeted a little more and then seemed to come to a decision.

"The snake told me". He muttered quietly with a sigh and avoided both adults' eyes. The two older wizards were frozen in shock for a moment.

"Really?". Asked Remus surprised and received a small nod in reply.

"You're a Parselmouth". Stated Sirius in a sudden realisation. Harry nodded again. "Well that's a surprise". Sirius started, rubbing his chin. "I wonder where you got that from". He mused almost to himself. Harry looked between his Godfather and old Professor.

"You're not going to freak out?". He asked, surprised to see them handling this piece of information so well.

"Of course not Harry". Remus reassured softly, patting the young wizard's shoulder. "I mean it's a bit of a shock because that ability is so rare but it doesn't change anything between us. All of our experiences make us who we are, besides I imagine it could be a pretty useful ability or at least very interesting". He said seeming lost in thought, considering all types of possibilities. Harry chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, I mean look, you just found a secret passage way. Hmm, I wonder when it was last used and if my parents ever knew about it". Sirius mused. "They never mentioned it though so maybe they didn't. Hey, the three of us can go and explore it". He said excitedly, practically bouncing in his seat. Remus laughed but Harry shook his head.

"I don't know the password". He told them. "That's why I asked you about it, I thought you might know".

"Didn't the snake tell you?". Remus asked confused.

"He only said that the password is not in Parseltongue, so he could never understand what was being said". Harry answered. Sirius sighed while Remus nodded in understanding.

"Oh well, I doubt that old man will tell us. Never mind, we'll just have to find something else to do". Sirius said with a smile.

"You know Harry I'm surprised the Sorting Hat didn't put you in Slytherin, it must have known you were a Parselmouth". Remus said as he made his next move across the chessboard. Harry again looked uneasy.

"Well it did want to put me in Slytherin but I asked it not to". He admitted with a sheepish smile. Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?". He asked. "I mean I didn't want to be in Slytherin either but I knew a lot more about the Houses when I started at Hogwarts than you probably did". He explained while wondering why Harry had not wanted to be in Slytherin.

"Prejudices aside". Remus started with a pointed look at Sirius. "Slytherin house is just as good academically as all the others. I think mostly it just has a bad reputation. It doesn't mean that every witch or wizard in it is evil". He said diplomatically and gave Sirius another stare as he seemed about to argue. Harry stifled a grin as Sirius crossed his arms and pouted like a petulant child. Harry considered what the werewolf was trying to say before answering.

"Well I didn't know much about the Houses, like you said Sirius, but Hagrid had told me all about Voldemort". He paused here and was happy when neither wizard flinched at the name. "Well he told me that he had been in Slytherin and then I met Malfoy who was a total prat from the start, calling Ron and his family the 'wrong sort'". Here Harry added air quotes with his fingers and a disgusted scowl. "So I just thought 'I don't care where I go as long as it's not there'". He shrugged. "Seems stupid now. It doesn't matter what house you're in, you're still the same person".

Remus nodded in approval and Sirius reluctantly had to agree with this persuasive argument. "I guess another thing that turned me off was the fact that the Hat said that Slytherin would help me on my way to greatness. I've never wanted to be great though. I don't know, I'm happy where I am I suppose". Harry finished.

"Well that's the main thing anyway. You would have been miserable in Slytherin because their all prats". Sirius stated with a decisive nod. Harry laughed while Remus shouted _'Sirius!' _annoyed and threw a cushion at him.

Sirius had a look of mock outrage on his face as he threw it back at his friend. Harry continued to laugh at the two grown men attacking each other with cushions until he caught one right in the face.

What followed was a long fight where all three wizards chased each other around the room laughing until they collapsed together on the floor exhausted.

* * *

**The End**


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